Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Collard Greens, Plain and Simple

I grow collards in my garden:

And I grow collards on my porch:

I love collard greens, and they sure make my body happy.

Here in Northern California, February is a great time to buy, or harvest, various hardy green vegetables and cabbage-family veggies that thrive in the winter weather. I harvested 2 whole pounds of collards from my garden last week and cooked them up for this week's submission to the Anti-Oxidant Rich Foods / 5-A-Day Tuesday blogging event. They are very tasty by themselves or with rice and beans. I'll be enjoying for days to come. Feel free to cut this recipe in half, of course, if you don't want a week's worth of greens on your hands!

Part of why these greens turned out so deliciously is that I used my Victorious Vegetable Stock, which is incredibly flavorful and rich. However I'm sure they'd turn out fine and dandy with one of the less flavorful storebought stocks. The smoked sweet paprika in these greens imparts a wonderful smoky flavor without the traditional but decidedly non-kosher and non-vegetarian smoked ham hock.

Whatever you do, don't discard the pot liquor! It is full of the nutrients and flavor that have leached out of the greens during cooking, and makes a very full-bodied and rich broth you can use as a replacement for water when making rice (my favorite), as the base for soups or stews, or in any other savory dish that requires broth or water.

EASY VEGETARIAN COLLARD GREENS2 pounds of collard greens4-5 cloves of garlic, minced1 large onion, chopped3 cups vegetable stock1 teaspoon salt (to taste)1 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika1/2 cup apple cider vinegarOptional: Hot sauce or red pepper flakesWash greens well, submerging in a sink full of cold water to remove any dirt and grit. Drain well. Cut off the stems right where the leaf starts. Stack about 5-8 leaves on top of eachother, then roll lengthwise. Cut rolled up leaves into 1" slices widthwise. Repeat until all the greens are done, and add to a large pot.

Add all other ingredients. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes or until greens are extremely tender. Serve hot, using a slotted spoon to drain the liquid from the greens.

I'm parked here using your recipe today. Thanks for the recipes.. I'll be trying that soup another time. My soup always tastes so bland, so I'm glad I found a recipe that has some flavor. Wish my collards looked that lovely. Mine are being devoured by green cabbage worms. I still cooking them...just got a lot of holes.

I just made this recipe tonight and it was terrific! I substituted shallots for the onion (since that was what I had on hand), and I added just a teaspoon of olive oil to the garlic and shallots. I have never had vegetarian collards that tasted so good (did I mention I am a southerner who was raised on this dish?)! Thank you for the quick and easy recipe.

where is a good place to buy smoked paprika? i am just learning to go kosher and have been wondering how to fix greens and legumes with no smoked pork (the way i was raised) but still make them taste good. I'd like to try this.